Oakland University Brass Band to Perform Alongside Matthew Murchison Tomorrow

The award-winning Oakland University Brass Band will perform at 8 p.m. on Friday, January 29, in Varner Recital Hall. The group will be joined on stage by guest artist, euphonium soloist Matthew Murchison.

Under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Kroesche, the OU Brass Band has become one of the most highly regarded traditional British-style brass bands in the country. They were the First Section champions at the 2014 North American Brass Band Association Championships and they toured England in 2015, placing second in the prestigious Butlins Mineworkers National Open Brass Festival.

Matthew Murchison was a member of River City Brass in Pittsburgh from 2002-2015 and was the principal solo euphonium for the last nine of those years. He is also a founding member of the River Bottom Quartet and The Matt Murchison Mutiny. Murchison has performed solo and chamber music concerts all across the United States with groups such as the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Brass Band of Battle Creek, and the Dallas Wind Symphony.

In 2009, Murchison premiered the piece "Moonfall" with the United States Army Band "Pershing's Own" in Washington, D.C. His solo performances with the River City Brass have been broadcast across the country through WQED Pittsburgh. Murchison is a regularly featured performer at regional, national and international conferences and has served on adjudication panels for international composition and performance competitions. As a member of the award-winning River Bottom Quartet, Murchison has performed as the opening act for the world-renowned Emerson String Quartet. He is a published and commissioned composer and arranger.

The band will perform "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" by John Williams; Andante from Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor by Johann Sebastian Bach; "Auld Lang Syne" by Simone Mantia, transcribed by Keith Wilkinsen; "Mountain Song" by Philip Sparke; "The New Jerusalem" by Philip Wilby; and "The Alchymist's Journal" by Kenneth Hesketh, with Kenneth Kroesche, conductor.

Varner Recital Hall is located on the Oakland University campus. Maps of the campus are available at oakland.edu/map or by searching for "Varner Hall" on a smartphone. Ample free parking will be available.

Tickets are $8. They may be purchased online without service fees at startickets.com or by phone at (800) 585-3737. They can also be purchased at the Varner Box Office on OU's campus. Tickets ordered online or by phone can be picked up at the box office one hour before the performance begins.

Directions and complete ticket information are available at oakland.edu/mtd/tickets.